Installation

Install Kysely using npm, yarn, pnpm, or bun for your TypeScript SQL projects.

Installation

Kysely can be installed using any major JavaScript package manager. Choose your preferred package manager below.

Package Manager Installation

npm

npm install kysely

yarn add kysely

pnpm install kysely

bun install kysely

Database Driver Installation

Kysely requires a database driver to connect to your database. Install the appropriate driver for your database:

PostgreSQL

npm

npm install pg

yarn add pg

pnpm install pg

bun install pg

For TypeScript users, you may also want to install @types/pg as a dev dependency.

MySQL

npm

npm install mysql2

yarn add mysql2

pnpm install mysql2

bun install mysql2

Do not use mysql2/promise! Kysely will handle promises internally.

SQLite

npm

npm install better-sqlite3

yarn add better-sqlite3

pnpm install better-sqlite3

bun install better-sqlite3

For TypeScript users, you may also want to install @types/better-sqlite3 as a dev dependency.

MS SQL Server

npm

npm install tedious tarn

yarn add tedious tarn

pnpm install tedious tarn

bun install tedious tarn

MS SQL Server requires both tedious (the driver) and tarn (for connection pooling).

Deno Installation

For Deno users, add Kysely to your deno.json imports:

deno.json

{
  "imports": {
    "kysely": "npm:kysely@^0.28.0",
    "pg-pool": "npm:pg-pool@^3.6.0"
  }
}

Replace version numbers with the latest versions. Deno uses different driver imports than Node.js.

TypeScript Configuration

Kysely requires TypeScript 4.6 or later. Ensure your tsconfig.json has these settings:

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true
  }
}

The strict flag is highly recommended to get the full benefits of Kysely’s type-safety.

Verify Installation

Create a simple test file to verify your installation:

test.ts

import { Kysely } from 'kysely'

console.log('Kysely imported successfully!')

Run the file:

Node.js

ts-node test.ts
# or
npx tsx test.ts

deno run test.ts

bun run test.ts

Next Steps

Quick Start

Set up your database and write your first query

Type Generation

Learn how to generate types from your database schema

Version Compatibility

Current Version: 0.28.x

Node.js: Requires Node.js 20.0.0 or later

TypeScript: Requires TypeScript 4.6 or later

For users on older TypeScript versions (< 4.6), Kysely provides compatibility type definitions, but upgrading TypeScript is strongly recommended for the best experience.